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22, 1955 E. F. BAHAN 27@4,559

HARNESS MOTION FOR LOOMS OF THE HELICAL SPRING TYPE Filed Nov. 1-3, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEYS.

@RQh 22, 1955 BAHAN 2,704,559

HARNESS MOTION FOR LOOMS OF THE HELICAL SPRING TYPE Filed Nov. 13, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 93 INVENTORE fp mweo 50/4.

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March 22, 1955 BAHAN 2,704,55Q

HARNESS MOTION FOR LOOMS OF THE HELICAL SPRING TYPE Filed Nov. 13, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORZ four/m0 E 5mm.

ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent HARNESS MOTION FOR LOOMS OF THE HELICAL SPRING TYPE Edward F. Bahan, Greenville, S. C.

Application November 13, 1953, Serial No. 391,830

17 Claims. (Cl. 139-89) This invention relates to a shedding mechanism for looms wherein instead of having helical springs for the harness motion the use of a clock type or spiral spring is employed.

As is well known in the art in modern high speed looms the harness frames are moved downwardly by cams and treadles and retracted or raised in the opposite direction by suitable spring means, some looms" employing a helical spring and others employing a fiat spiral clock type spring for each harness frame for retracting the harness frame to elevated position.

The main objections to the helical springs is that they soon lose their standard strength and become weaker and thus not elevating the harness frames to the proper position and frequent adjustment is necessary, and finally it may become necessary to replace these springs with new and stronger springs.

By providing a spiral clock type spring this fatigue in the springs is eliminated and when once adjusted will retain their adjustment for long periods of time.

it is therefore an object of this invention to provide a harness motion for looms in which a plurality of sheaves are mounted for oscillation on a shaft and each sheave has a hub portion which has a pinion or toothed gear integral therewith and adapted to be associated with each toothed hub portion is a sleeve having mat ing grooves therein for receiving the toothed portion and which portion has means on its exterior for releasably attaching the inner end of the spiral spring while the outer end of the spiral spring is suitably anchored in the casing in which the spiral springs are mounted and therefore the sleeve can be rotated to impart the proper tension to the spring associated therewith and then the sleeve with the inner end of the spiral spring attached thereto can be slid onto the toothed hub to thereby adjust the tension individually on each of the springs.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is an elevation of a loom arch and a harness frame and showing the harness motion secured to the loom arch;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 but looking at the opposite side thereof and omitting the right-hand portion of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is elevation looking at the left-hand side of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a top plan View looking down on Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line 5-5 in Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 6-6 in Figure 3;

Figure 7 is an isometric view of the anchor bar for the inner ends of the spiral springs looking in the direction of the arrow 7 in Figure 6;

Figure 8 is an isometric exploded view of one of the mechanisms;

Figure 9 is an elevation of the means for anchoring the lower edge of the harness frame.

Referring more specifically to the drawings the numeral 10 indicates the upright portions of the arch of a loom which are joined to a horizontal portion 10a. This loom is of conventional type and although the arch 10 is shown all in one part, part 10 being integral with horizontal portion 10a it is evident that this apparatus 2,704,559 Patented Mar. 22, 1955 may as well be used on looms in which the horizontal portion 10a is separate and attached to the upright portions 10. In a loom of this type there are a plurality of harness frames or heddle frames 11 which are adapted to be lowered by treadles 18 secured by straps 19 to the lower portions of the heddle frames 11.

it is the purpose of this invention to provide resilient means for normally retracting or raising the harness or heddle frames 11 to raised position, then when the treadles 18 lower certain of the harness frames a shed is formed in the warp yarns through which a shuttle with filling yarn therein is projected.

Two brackets 12 and 13 are secured to the horizontal portion 10a and have shafts 14 and 15 projecting therefrom on which are mounted a plurality of pulleys 16 and 17, there being in the present instance six of these pulleys in side-to-side relation on which are mounted harness straps 20 and 21 connected to each harness frame by means of suitable hooks 22 and 23 secured to the upper edges of the harness frames. These two harness straps 20 and 21 are suitably secured together by means of a hook 24 which in turn is secured to a sheave strap 25. There is one sheave strap for each of the sheaves disposed within the harness motion mechanism to be presently described.

Secured to one of the upright portions 10 of the loom arch by any suitable means such as bolts 26, is a bracket 27 which extends upwardly and then outwardly and again upwardly and this bracket 27 has an enlarged portion 30 which has a bore 31 therethrough penetrated by a support shaft 32 which is shouldered as at 33 and 34 and again is reduced by a shoulder as at 35 and has a threaded portion 36 extending out beyond the left-hand surface of the enlarged or hub portion 30 and has a nut 37 threadably secured thereon. A casing end plate 40 is provided having a bore 41 therethrough which is penetrated by the portion of the shaft 32 disposed between the shoulders 33 and 35, the bore 41 being of less diameter than the main portion of the shaft 32 so that its shoulder 33 is pressed against a right-hand or inner surface of the casing end plate 40 when the nut 37 is driven home to thereby hold the plate 40 tightly against the r'ighthand surface of the hub portion 30 when looking at the same in Figure 5. The bore 41 through the plate 40 has a keyway 44 therethrough and the portion of the shaft 32 between the shoulders 33 and 35 has a keyway 45 therein and into these keyways is fitted a key 47 for preventing relative rotation between the shaft 32 and the plate or side member 40. The plate or side member 40 also has a threaded bore 50 therethrough into which is screwed a bolt 51 which loosely fits in a bore 52 in the upper portion of hub member 30. When the screw or bolt 51 is driven home in the threaded bore 50 it tends to hold the plate or side member 40 in fixed position and prevents relative rotation between the plate 40 and the shaft 32 and thus assists the key 47 and the keyways 44 and 45 in holding the plate 40 in fixed position.

The shaft 32 has elongated bore 55 therein communicating with a plurality of radial bores 56, there being a radial bore 56 for each of a plurality of sleeves 57 mounted on the shaft, there being in the present instance six sleeves 57 because this apparatus is designed for a six harness loom but the number of washers and the number of sheave sectors will be governed by the number of harness frames in the loom on which this apparatus is to be installed. A lubricant fitting 58 is secured in the outer or open end of the bore 55 for applying lubricant under pressure into the bore 55 and out thorugh the radial bores 56.

There is provided a plurality of sheave sectors 60 each having an outer arcuate circumference which extends approximately 180" and has laterally projecting flange 61 to which one end of the straps 25 are secured by means of a suitable screw 63 fitting into any one of a plurality of threaded bores 64. Each sheath sector may be provided with an elongated opening 65 to lessen the weight of the same but such openings otherwise are not necessary. Each sheave sector has integral therewith a hub portion 66 which on its periphery is provided with a plurality of teeth 67.

Adapted to fit over each hub portion 66 and the teeth 67 is an annular or sleeve member 70 having internal grooves 71 therein shaped and so spaced as to conform to the shape and spacing of the teeth 67 on the hub portion 66 and each sleeve member 70 has a radial slot 72 extending inwardly from its periphery and provided with a projection 73 in one of its walls which is adapted to fit into a bore 74 in the inner end of each of a clock type spring 75.

The springs 75 have a plurality of convolutions and have their outer or free ends hooked as at 76 and adapted to be hooked over a cross bar 77 having one of the end portions 78 fitting through a suitable opening 80 in the plate 40 and the other reduced end portion 78 fitting through an opening 90 in an end wall or plate 83 which has a suitable bore 84 therethrough adapted to fit over a reduced portion 85 of the shaft 32 and this portion 85 has a keyway 86 therein and the hub portion of member 83 has a keyway 87 therein and a key 88 is disposed in these two keyways to prevent relative movement between end wall member 83 and the shaft 32. If desired, suitable cotter pins 93 may be inserted through suitable holes in the reduced portions 88 on the exterior side of the members 40 and 83 to confine the member 77 in position.

The hub member of side wall 83 in addition to being provided with the keyway 87 and the key 88 and the shaft 32 having a keyway 86 therein may also be provided with a set screw 94 which may be driven home against the reduced portion 85 of the shaft 32 as an additional safeguard against rotative movement between the shaft 32 and the wall member 83.

Secured to and spanning the distance between the wall or end members 40 and 83 is a shaft 96 around which a bent portion 97 of a cover 98 may be disposed and this cover 98 extends upwardly and over the top edges of the side wall members 40 and 83 and is confined in position by a strap member 99 having down turned end portions provided with notches which engage outwardly extending projections 100 on the end wall members 40 and 83. These end wall members 40 and 83 are also provided with projections for projecting inwardly toward each other to which a reversely bent portion 102 of the front wall 103 may be inserted and one end of which is bent as at 104 and is pressed by the resiliency inherent in the front wall 103 against inwardly projecting portions 105 on each of the end walls 40 and 83. An opening 110 is provided between the free end of cover 98 and the upper end of front wall 103 through which the straps 25 pass.

Transverse member 77 is provided on its edge next to the loom with a plurality of notches 106 in which the hooked portions 76 of the spiral springs are placed and these notches 106 prevent lateral movement of the springs 75. End walls portions 40 and 83 have the ends of a transverse rod 107 secured therein which spans the distance between the walls 40 and 83 and serves as a stop for the sheave sectors and limits their movement toward the cross bar 77 under the pull of the springs 75.

To assemble the apparatus, the end plate 40 of the casing is placed against the face of the bracket 27 and the shaft 32 is inserted through the bore 41 in the end plate 40 and the nut 37 is driven home which firmly holds the end plate 40 in position and the screw 51 is also driven home to assist in holding the end plate in position. Then the first sheave sector to the left in Figure is inserted over the free end of the shaft 32, the end plate 83 not being in position and then one of the annular or sleeve members 70 is slipped over the shaft 32 and of course one of the sleeves 57 will be in position and over which the bore in the sheave sector will fit and the annular member 70 will have the inturned end 76 of a clock spring member 75 placed in the slot 72 and the free or hooked end 76 of the clock spring 75 will be hooked over the transverse bar 77, this bar having one of its ends inserted through the opening 80 in the plate 40 and a cotter key 93 placed in position.

With the outer end of the spring 75 thus anchored, the operator or the assembler will turn the annular or sleeve member 70 in a clock-wise direction in Figures 6 and 8 until from experience and feel he can tell when the proper amount of tension has been built up in the over the toothed hub portion 66 of the sheave sector and thus the first sheave sector is assembled.

The additional sheave sectors will be likewise mounted on the shaft 32 until all of the sheave sectors have been assembled in the position shown in Figure 5. Then the end plate 83 will be inserted over the outer or free end of the shaft 32 and the other end of the anchor bar 77 will be inserted through the slot in their lower portion of the end plate 83 and a cotter key 93 placed in position.

It is to be noted that the anchor bar 77 throughout its midportion is much thicker and of greater diameter than the end portions thus forming a shoulder which butts against the end plate 40 with the cotter key 93 in position and will hold the anchor bar in position without its other end being anchored in the end plate 83 until all of the parts are assembled. Then the end plate 83 will he slipped over the reduced end portion 84 of the shaft 32 and set screw 94 driven home to hold end plate in position. Then of course the covers 98 and 103 will be placed in position and the straps 25 will be connected to the respective harness straps 20 and 21.

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention and, although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in the claims.

I claim:

1. A harness frame retractor mechanism for a loom having loom sides and a harness frame, comprising, in combination; a casing having an opening on the side adjacent the loom and having means for securing the same above and adjacent one side of the loom, an anchorage within the casing, a shaft secured within the casing, a sheave sector within the casing including a toothed hub rotatably mounted on the shaft, a sleeve member having internal teeth mating with the teeth on the toothed hub and adapted to be slid longitudinally of and onto the toothed hub, said sleeve having a cavity in its exterior, a tensioned spiral spring within the casing convolved about this sleeve and engaged at one of its ends with the cavity in the sleeve, and at its other end with said anchorage and thereby tending to rotate said sleeve sector in one direction, a flexible connector arranged at one end to be attached to a harness frame and extending into said casing through said opening and attached at the other end thereof to said sheave sector, whereby when said connector is pulled outwardly of the casing the spring is further tensioned for subsequent retraction of the connector, said sleeve member when slid longitudinally of and off the hub member, being adapted to be rotated to decrease or increase the tension of the spring before the same is fitted back onto the hub member.

2. In a loom, a harness frame, means for moving the frame in one direction, an oscillatable member mounted above said frame, a flexible connection between the member and the harness frame, a spiral spring for moving the oscillatable member and the harness frame in the opposite direction, a hub on said oscillatable member having a plurality of teeth on its periphery, a sleeve member having a plurality of internal grooves adapted to mate with the teeth on the hub member when the sleeve is slid longitudinally over the hub member, said sleeve having a cavity in its exterior for receiving the inner end of said spring, and means for fixedly anchoring the outer end of said spring.

3. In a loom, a harness frame, means for moving the harness frame in one direction, a spiral spring means for moving the harness frame in the other direction, an oscillatable member mounted above said harness frame, strap connections between the frame and the oscillatable member, a hub on said oscillatable member having a plurality of teeth in its periphery, a sleeve having internal grooves therein mating with the teeth on the exterior of said hub and adapted to be slid longitudinally of and over the hub, the sleeve having means on its periphery for anchoring the inner end of said spring means, a fixed support, means on said support to which the outer end of such spring means is secured.

4. In a loom, a harness frame, means for moving the harness frame in one direction, a fiat clock type spring for clock spring 75 and then annular member 70 5 slid moving the harness frame in the other direction, an oscillatable member mounted above said harness frame, strap connections between said member and said harness frame, a hub on said oscillatable member having a plurality of teeth in its periphery, a sleeve member having a plurality of grooves cut on its inside surface in mating relationship to the teeth on said hub and adapted to he slid over said hub in adjusted position, the exterior of said sleeve having a cavity therein in which the inner end of the clock type spring is secured, a casing surrounding said oscillatable member and means in the casing for anchoring the other end of said spring in fixed position.

5. In a loom, a plurality of harness straps, means for moving the harness straps in one direction, comprising a plurality of flexed spiral springs, oscillatable members to which one end of each of said springs is connected, means connecting each of said straps to a respective oscillatable member comprising a toothed hub on each of the oscillatable members and an internally grooved sleeve fitting over said hub and having the inner end of a spring secured thereto, and means for fixedly anchoring the outer ends of the springs.

6. In a loom having a plurality of oscillatable members, each having a hub provided with a plurality of teeth around its periphery, a sleeve provided with internal grooves mating with the teeth on said hub, a plurality of harness straps, means for connecting each of said straps to a respective one of said oscillatable members, a plurality of spiral springs, one for each of the oscillatable members and associated therewith, each spring at one end thereof being engaged by said sleeve to oscillate the member in a direction opposite to said one direction with a selected degree of torque and means for anchoring the other end of each of said springs, the last named means being fixed in position.

7. In a loom having two-ended harness frames positioned generally between the loom side, harness frame retractor mechanism located at one side of the loom and secured above the loom, comprising in combination at one of the loom sides, a casing provided with an opening on the side of the casing which is adjacent the loom, means supporting the casing on the 100m, a plurality of sheave sectors each including a hub having a plurality of radially directed teeth on its periphery, a sleeve member having a radially directed notch therein, tensioned spiral spring for each of the sheave sectors, each convolved about the hub of a respective sheave sector and at one end engaging the radially directed slot in the sleeve member, and said sleeve member fitting over the teeth in the hub, means for supporting said sectors for independent oscillation within the confines of said casing, an anchorage within the casing and engaged by the other end of each of said springs, a plurality of flexible strap connectors, each attached to a respective harness frame end and extending through said opening into winding engagement with the respective peripheral flange of a sheave sector and means adjustably securing each strap to its respective flange.

8. A loom harness frame retractor mechanism comprising, in combination, a casing having an opening on the side which is adjacent the loom, a shaft and an anchorage within and supported by the casing, a plurality of independent sheave sectors within said casing and each including a multi-toothed hub rotatably mounted on said shaft; an annular member having internal teeth adapted to be slidably fitted end-wise of the hub and onto the hub; said annular member having a cavity in its periphery, a plurality of two-ended spiral springs of the clock type within said casing, one for each sheave sector and arranged about the respective annular member fitting on said hub, with one end of the spring engaged in the cavity in the exterior of said annular member, the other end engaging said anchorage; and a plurality of flexible connectors engaged each at one end thereof with a respective sheave sector and extending out of said casing through said opening and having a pair of harness straps connected thereto which in turn are attached to a harness frame, whereby when any connector is pulled outwardly of the casing a respective spring is tensioned for retractive movement of the connector.

9. In a loom having sides and an arched member connected to and extending upwardly across one side to the other, a plurality of harness frames positioned generally between the loom sides, and means below the level of said frames for lowering the frames and means located on one side of the arch acting to retract said frames each independently of another and comprising in combination;

a casing secured to the arch at one side of the loom and having tensioned spiral springs in said casing and flexible strap means connected to said mechanism extending from said easing into lifting engagement with the two ends of each of the harness frames acting in response to the tension in said springs to retractably raise said harness frame ends, each of said tension spiral springs having associated with the same a sheave sector, each sheave being mounted for oscillation within the casing and having a toothed hub, an internally toothed sleeve adapted to be positioned over the toothed hub, means securing one end of the springs to the exterior of the said sleeve, and anchor means within the casing adapted to receive the other ends of said springs.

10. Harness retracting mechanism for a loom comprising a casing secured above one side of the loom and said casing being provided with an opening on the side thereof which is adjacent the loom, a shaft for the casing and fixed therein and a plurality of independent sheave sectors and spring structures for the shaft and rotatably mounted on the shaft with fixed anchorage for the outer ends of said springs and said sheave sectors having a toothed hub and an annular internally toothed member adapted to fit over the toothed hub and having means on its exterior for securing the inner end of one of the springs to the annular member, strap means secured to the sheave sectors and extending outwardly through the opening and connected to the respective harness frame for retracting the same.

11. In a loom, a casing, a plurality of oscillatable members mounted in the casing and each having a hub portion provided with a plurality of teeth projecting from its periphery, a plurality of harness straps, means connecting each of said straps to a respective one of said oscillatable members, said last means comprising a sleeve member having a plurality of longitudinal grooves on its interior surface adapted to mate with a plurality of teeth on said hub member and being adapted to be slid over the hub member in adjusted position, means on the exterior of the sleeve member for anchoring the inner end of one of a plurality of spiral springs, one for each oscillatable member, each spring at one end thereof being engaged by the exterior of said sleeve of a respective rotatable member to rotate the member in any direction opposite to said one direction with a select degree of torque and means for fixedly anchoring the other ends of each of said springs in said casing.

12. In a loom having a plurality of independently oscillatable sheaves, each having a hub provided with a plurality of teeth around its periphery, and a sleeve member having a plurality of longitudinal grooves in its interior surface adapted to mate with the teeth on said hub member when the sleeve member is slid longitudinally over the hub member, a plurality of harness straps, a plurality of fasteners one for each sheave and fitted in a selected one of said holes and attaching an individual one of said harness straps to the respective one of said sheaves for movement of the sheave in one direction, a plurality of spiral springs one for each of said oscillatable sheaves and associated therewith, each spiral spring at one end thereof being engaged in the cavity and the periphery of said sleeve to rotate the periphery of said sleeve to rotate the sheave in the opposite direction to said one direction with a selected degree of torque, means to which the other end of each of said springs is anchored.

13. In a loom, a harness frame, means for moving the harness frame in one direction, spiral spring means for moving the harness frame in the other direction, an oscillatable member mounted above said harness frame, flexible connections between the harness frame and the oscillatable member, a hub integral with said oscillatable member having a plurality of teeth disposed around its periphery, a sleeve member having a plurality of internal grooves therein adapted to fit over the hub member, said sleeve having a cavity in its exterior in which the inner end of said spring may be connected, and fixed means for anchoring the outer end of said spiral spring to lock it in position.

14. A harness frame retractor mechanism for a loom having loom sides and a harness frame comprising, in combination; a casing having an opening on the side adjacent the loom and having means for securing the same above and adjacent one side of the loom, an anchorage within the casing, a shaft secured within the casing, a sheave sector within the casing provided with an arcuate peripheral flange and including a toothed hub rotatably mounted on the shaft, a sleeve member having internal teeth mating with the teeth on the toothed hub and adapted to he slid longitudinally of and onto the toothed hub, said sleeve having a cavity in its exterior, a tensioned spiral spring Within the casing convolved about this sleeve and engaged at one of its ends with the cavity in the sleeve, and at its other end with said anchorage and thereby tending to rotate said sleeve sector in one direction, a flexible connector arranged at one end to be attached to a harness frame and extending into said casing through said openings and attached at the other end thereof to the arcuate peripheral flange of said sheave sector, whereby when said connector is pulled outwardly of the casing the spring is further tensioned for subsequent retraction of the connector, said sleeve member when slid longitudinally of and off the hub member, being adapted to be rotated to decrease or increase the tension of the spring and then be fitted back onto the hub member, and means limiting retractive movement of the sheave.

15. In a loom, a harness frame, means for moving the frame in one direction, an oscillatable member mounted above said frame and having an arcuate periphery, a flexible connection between the arcuate periphery and the harness frame, a spiral spring for moving the oscillatable member and the harness frame in the opposite direction, a hub on said oscillatable member having a plurality of teeth on its periphery, a sleeve member having a plurality of internal grooves adapted to mate with the teeth on the hub member when the sleeve is slid longitudinally over the hub member, said sleeve having means on its exterior for anchoring the inner end of said spring, means for fixedly anchoring the outer end of said spring, and means for limiting oscillative movement of the oscillatable member in the opposite direction.

16. In a loom, a harness frame, means for moving the harness frame in one direction, a spiral spring means for moving the harness frame in the other direction,

an oscillatable member mounted above and adjacent one end of said harness frame, strap connections between the frame and the oscillatable member, a hub on said oscillatable member having a plurality of teeth in its periphery, a sleeve having internal grooves therein mating with the teeth on the exterior of said hub and adapted to be slid longitudinally of and over the hub, the sleeve having means on its periphery for anchoring the inner end of said spring means, a fixed support, means on said support to which the outer end of such spring means is secured, and means for limiting movement of the oscillatablc member in said other direction.

17. In a loom, a harness frame, means for moving the harness frame in one direction, a flat clock type spring for moving the harness frame in the other direction, an oscillatable member mounted above and adjacent said harness frame and having an arcuate peripheral portion, strap connections between the arcuate peripheral portion of said oscillatable member and said harness frame, a hub on said oscillatable member having a plurality of teeth in its periphery, a sleeve member having a plurality of grooves cut on its inside surface in mating relationship to the teeth on said hub and adapted to he slid over said hub in adjusted position, the exterior of said sleeve having means to which the inner end of the clock type spring is secured, a casing surrounding said oscillatable member, means in the casing for anchoring the other end of said spring in fixed position, and means for limiting movement of the oscillatable member by said spring.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 729,190 Knox May 26, 1903 2,455,263 Nichols Nov. 30, 1948 2,501,157 Brown et al Mar. 21, 1950 2,673,575 Budzyna et al Mar. 30, 1954 2,681,079 Picanol June 15, 1954 

